Have you heard?  Giving housing to the homeless is three times cheaper than leaving them on the streets, read about it here. And here are just a few snapshots of the savings...makes sense to me. It's compelling evidence. 

For my mid-week dinner meal I thought I would have fruit.  HAHAHA! Actually I love Sangria, good wine and good wine soaked fruit, what's not to love? Add some good bread and cheeses and you've got a great little meal to celebrate making it halfway through the week. Maybe invite a friend or two - have a date with your main squeeze - toast the mid-week and make plans for the weekend.  Take a deep breath and wine down today! 

Celebrate the idea of time travel today by watching Back to the Future. Michael J Fox was just a baby and so incredibly cute in this flick. But I digress... *grin* If you went back in time to the same period Marty McFly found himself in what would you want to see? Was there an important sporting event that happened? Would you want to see how your parents, or grandparents, found each other? Did history happen (like JFK, MLK, etc) that you would want to participate in or witness? I confess, I didn't know what happened of significance in 1955 so I looked it up. Anything peak your interest to travel back to? Rosa Parks peaked my interest for sure, so did the opening of Disneyland. *wink* Happy time traveling!

Today's #MakeItHappenMonday is focused on that thing you've been keeping deep in your heart. That idea you've thought about implementing, that non-profit you've thought about starting, that book you've played around with writing, that child you've wanted to adopt, etc. Obviously you can't make it happen completely today but you can take the really important steps to make it happen down the road. The first step to making it happen - any of the above or anything on that level - is belief. You must, MUST, believe in yourself.  Believe in Yourself (And Why Nothing Will Work If You Don’t…)   There is incredible power in believing in yourself.    Jon Acuff is one of the best people I know to speak to the idea of believing in yourself and making things happen. Check out his website and all that he has to offer.  There's other steps to take to see something happen but unless you believe you can no other step will be fruitful. So today, on #MakeItHappenMon

Today's #SundayService is focused on services...emergency services that is. Let's take today to thank the first responders in our communities.  Drop by your local stations with thank you's of some kind. Baked yummies, gift cards for restaurants that deliver, donations for a charity that supports those agencies, or whatever you come up with that would show these important people in our communities appreciation for their work. I gave some ideas in last week's sneak peak, here they are if you missed them (of course you can always do your own Google search!): police , firefighter , for all .  There's even an organization that has a grassroots movement started to create a National First Responders Day to bring attention to the approximately 25,300,000 first responders in the United States alone. Check them out at thankyoufirstresponder.org  

In the movie "You've Got Mail" a small, local bookstore is run out of business by a large chain store. Meg Ryan, the local store owner, puts up a valiant fight to save her children's bookstore but in the end Tom Hanks, the chain store owner, wins and the big bad Fox Books wins.  Unfortunately the takeover of local businesses isn't isolated to just big cities like NYC and the takeovers are damaging to communities around the country. The chain stores impact a community in ways that are seen immediately and cannot be seen until years down the road.  One immediate loss to the community is that of the personal touch - the personal knowledge of the customers who come into the store - the finger on the pulse of the community. Oh the chain stores will try, they will do what they can to try and be part of the community but their efforts are surface, they are simply too big to truly be a part of the community they are in. A scene from the movie illust

Today's feelings are the ones we feel but can't name. For example... The english language lacks the adjectives that the range of human emotion actually covers. All other languages have multiple meanings for human emotions like love, anger, sadness, etc. And in those different meanings we find more apt descriptions of what we each feel every day. In fact, Forbes published an article about this last year.  So the next time you are feeling something but can't figure out a word for it just know that there may be a word out there after all. Google the feeling and see what word pops up! 

I have a lot of great thoughts and conversations while in the shower. So this oldie but goodie from one of my favorite authors/pastors resonated. Behind the Shower Curtain by Max Lucado I’m going to have to install a computer in my shower. That’s where I have my best thoughts. I had a great one today. I was mulling over a recent conversation I had with a disenchanted Christian brother. He was upset with me. So upset that he was considering rescinding his invitation for me to speak to his group. Seems he’d heard I was pretty open about who I have fellowship with. He’d read the words I wrote: “If God calls a person his child, shouldn’t I call him my brother?” And, “If God accepts others with their errors and misinterpretations, shouldn’t we?” He didn’t like that. “Carrying it a bit too far,” he told me. “Fences are necessary,” he explained. “Scriptures are clear on such matters.” He read me a few and then urged me to be careful to whom I give grace. “I don’t give it,” I

I don't know about you but I'm not super picky about what I drink my wine out of. If all I have available is a red solo cup then that's okay by me. But it is fun to have a designated class or two for the winding down that needs to happen from time to time - or at least each wednesday!  My daughter got me a fun wine glass for Christmas last year and I love to use it.  Here's a few other fun ones available out there.  Do you have a favorite glass to drink wine from? 

I never cared much for the genre of time travel and all that. And then I was introduced to Outlander. And I loved it, in spite of its time traveling. Now I love it in part because of its time traveling. I was introduced to Outlander in 1994 because my supervisor at the time knew how much I loved to read and she was reading this series and thought I might like it. She was right! I not only liked it, I LOVED it. It was so well-written, so engaging, so magnificent. I would spend my lunch hours devouring as much of the story as I could. The first book was published in 1991, the most recent novel in the series was published in 2014. All the years I have been reading, and re-reading, the series I had pictures in my head of what the characters looked like, sounded like, what the landscapes were, and Gabaldon was such a vivid author that she brought all of those things to life in the most stunning of ways. A couple of years ago I heard rumors of Outlander being made into a series. I

Today is all about doing that thing - finally - that has had you stuck, blocked, paused. It could be as simple as cleaning out the junk drawer that you have been avoiding or it could be as big as finally brushing up your resume and putting it out there. And of course there are all the in between's. Whatever it is today is the day to take steps to being unstuck. Make it happen today! But how? How to make it happen? Well TED has a few ideas - watch one of these talks. Click here for the playlist. Tiny Buddha offers 3 Powerful Ways to Get Unstuck. James Altucher offers his thoughts on breaking free and finally making "it" happen. So what can you and will you make happen today?

Got litter? Your community does, mine does too. I don't know how many litterbugs I've got in my area but I do have high winds from time to time. And when those winds kick up - especially on trash pickup days - I see trash flying around that didn't make it in the trucks or flew out of the cans that tipped over. I see the trash swirling and flying through the air and landing in the ditches and catching on tree branches and getting caught up in brush. And I cringe. So even if there are no litterbugs - and I really hope nobody I know is one - there is still litter to clean up thanks to wind and other out-of-our-control factors.  For #SundayService take one hour, grab some family and friends, and go clean up an area in your community. You'll need heavy duty trash bags, gloves, a bin for the recyclables, sturdy shoes, and water. One hour and many hands and you'll be surprised at how much you pick up and how much better the area you choose looks! If we a

I've got a growing habit. When friends want to go out - grab coffee, food, beverage of another sort - I am quick to say, "Sure, let's try for local." It's my first thought - what's around that is local and we can spend our money and time there? And you know what I find? We don't lack for options, at least not in my town. My fave local places have the best coffee, the best other beverages, fresher food, better service. I love sitting in a locally owned place knowing that I'm partnering, in a sense, with others to keep our community strong, diverse, and operating. I love being part of the unique offerings creative people in my town offer, and really that's just one of the reasons to stay local when spending your money.  Shop Small Saturday is a day dedicated to shopping at locally owned businesses - but why stop at just a day? Here's 6 reasons to shop small everyday.   So go local and help start a trend.

A lot of times the emotion we experience is actually based in something else. For example, depression is usually rooted in anger, guilt, or some emotion that we normally wouldn't associate with being "sad." And a lot of times anger is actually rooted in fear. And so it goes.  So today think about your emotions - are you tuned in to them? Are you listening to what they might be trying to tell you? If you aren't sure about the importance of your emotions there are a lot of articles and scientific research about it. Here's one such article.  Don't ignore what your emotions are trying to tell you. 

Here are some thoughts about women or how to not talk to women. *wink*  

How's your week been going?  Has it been stressful? Have you encountered some challenges? Take a time out and wine down. I mean sure, there's yoga and meditation but let's be real. A glass of wine goes a long way too. *wink* Do you have a favorite wine? I love a good glass of Rosé. Any recommendations for me? 

We can't have a #TimeTravelTuesday and not bring up Dr. Who. It would boggle the mind if The Doctor wasn't brought into this day!  If you haven't heard of Dr. Who I have one question...what planet have you been living on? Certainly not Earth or Gallifrey. Listen, even if sci-fi isn't your thing (it is and isn't mine) you still should have at least heard of the Doctor. But just in case you haven't click here to get the history of this famous time traveler. And to celebrate #TimeTravelTuesday why not look up an episode or two of Dr. Who and enjoy some wibbly-wobbely, timey-wimey!